ABSTRACT
Migrant workers, also called peasant workers, are people who officially reside in rural areas but are working in cities temporarily; often, they leave their families behind. According to the 2012 Migrant Workers Report 1 published by the State Bureau of Statistics, there were 262.61 million migrant workers in China, up 16.5% from 225.42 million in 2008. The overwhelming Spring Festival travel rush is a testament to the huge number of migrant workers in China. According to statistics, during the 2014 travel rush (lasting 40 days, from January 16 to February 24), flow was expected to reach 3.62 billion passengers, an increase of more than 200 million passengers over 2013. As the existence of migrant workers has grown into a major and unique social phenomenon, it receives much public attention and piques the interest of many in Chinese society.
